A program is proposed to study the cellular events responsible for the initiation of sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. This study centers around the use of mutants blocked in various steps of the sporulation process. These mutants define the genetic loci involved in the determination of the cell to differentiate into a spore. Analysis of the DNA binding protein fraction from cells at various stages of sporulation and in mutants unable to sporulate is a major goal of these studies. The DNA-binding protein fraction is isolated by affinity chromatography on DNA cellulose and analyzed by analytical polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In addition to the analysis of the effect of mutation in stage 0 sporulation loci on DNA-binding proteins, a major effort of this research is to locate and isolate the proteins specified by these loci. At the moment, both ribosomal and membrane proteins are under analysis. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Brehm, S. P., F. Le Hegarat, and J. A. Hoch. 1975. Alterations in deoxyribonucleic acid-binding proteins as functions of growth and sporulation. In, Gerhardt, P., Sadoff, N. L., and Costilow, R. N. (eds.) Spores VI, American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C., pp. 357-380. Brehm, S. P., S. O. Hoch, and J. A. Hoch. 1975. DNA-binding proteins in human serum. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 63: 24-31.